TODAY IN MILITARY HISTORY
12 May
◆1082 Battle of Mailberg: Vratislav II of Bohemia defeats Leopold II of Austria.
◆1167 Battle of Monte Porzio: Frederick Barbarossa defeats the forces of Pope Alexander III.
◆1264 Three day battle of Lewes begins: Earl Simon de Montfort of Leicester defeats & captures Henry III.
◆1649 Naval Battle of Focchies: Venetians defeat the Turks.
◆1700 The Royal Governor, Earl of Bellomont, presides over the annual muster of New York City’s militia.
◆1780 Charleston, SC, fell to the British in the US Revolutionary War. Three Continental Navy frigates (Boston, Providence, and Ranger) were captured; and one American frigate (Queen of France) was sunk to prevent capture
◆1789 The Society of St. Tammany was formed by Revolutionary War soldiers. It later became an infamous group of NYC political bosses.
◆1820 Florence Nightingale, Crimean War nurse known as “Lady with the Lamp,” was born in Florence, Italy. She is also known as the founder of modern nursing
◆1851 A treaty was signed on the south bank of the Kaweah River, the site of John Wood's grave. Woods was killed by Yokut Indians. The California Tule River War ended.
◆1862 Federal troops occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
◆1863 With a victory at the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, Grant closed in on Vicksburg.
◆1864 BATTLE OF SPOTSYLVANIA.
◆1864 Battle of Todd's Tavern, VA (Sheridan's Raid).
◆1864 Union General Benjamin Butler attacked Drewry’s Bluff on the James River.
◆1864 J.E.B. Stuart, 31, died. Confederate cavalryman.
◆1865 The last land action of the Civil War was fought at Palmito Ranch in Texas. It was a Confederate victory.
◆1879 War of the Pacific - Battle of Iquiqui: The Chilean Navy defeats the Peruvians.
◆1885 Battle of Batoche: French Canadians rebel against Canada.
◆1917 Tenth Battle of the Isonzo begins (to May 28).
◆1942 A Nazi U-boat sank an American cargo ship at mouth of Mississippi River.
◆1943 Admiral Ainsworth leads 4 cruisers and 7 destroyers in two groups to shell Vila and Munda. American ships lay more mines near New Georgia Island.
◆1943 The Trident Conference. Roosevelt and Churchill meet to discuss strategy. The Americans seek a commitment to an invasion of western Europe. The British seek a commitment to an invasion of Italy and possibly the Balkans.
◆1944 About 800 bombers of the US 8th Air Force, with a substantial fighter escort, attack synthetic oil plants at Leuna-Merseburg, Bohlen, Zeitz, Lutzkendorf and Brux (northwest of Prague). The Americans claim to shoot down 150 German fighters and report losses of 46 bombers and 10 fighters.
◆1944 Allied attacks by forces of the US 5th Army make some progress against the German-held defenses. The French Expeditionary Corps (General Juin) encounters only the German 71st Division along its line and captures Monte Faito. The Polish 2nd Corps is held with heavy losses, north of Cassino. The British 13th Corps establishes two small bridgeheads over the Rapido River, opposite Cassino. The US 2nd Corps, on the western coast of the advance, experiences difficulty advancing.
◆1945 On Okinawa, Japanese forces repulse an attack by elements of US 3rd Amphibious Corps at Sugar Loaf Hill, southeast of Amike. The position is an important point in the Japanese held Shuri Line. The US 1st Marine Division suffers heavy losses but captures most of Dakeshi Ridge. The US 77th Division advances slowly toward Shuri. The Japanese held Conical Hill position is fought over by US 96th Division. At sea, a Kamikaze plane strikes the USS New Mexico, causing considerable damage.
◆1945 On Luzon, elements of the US 43rd Division, part of US 11th Corps, converge on Ipo, capturing several hill occupied by the Japanese. On Mindanao, Del Monte airfield is reached by elements of the US 40th Division. Other elements advance southwest of Tankulan. The US 123th Infantry Regiment eliminates the Japanese strongpoint in the Colgan woods after a lengthy air and artillery bombardment. American aircraft and artillery strike at suspected Japanese gun emplacements on Samar Island.
◆1945 Elements of US 7th Army capture the Japanese ambassador to Germany, General Oshima, and 130 members of his staff.
◆1945 The government orders a suspension of Lend-Lease shipments to the USSR.
◆1949 An early crisis of the Cold War comes to an end when the Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade against West Berlin.
◆1951 The first Hydrogen Bomb test was on Eniwetok Atoll.
◆1952 General Mark W. Clark succeeded General Matthew Ridgway as commander of U.N. forces. Ridgway replaced the retiring General Eisenhower as supreme commander of Allied Powers in Europe.
◆1969 Viet Cong sappers tried unsuccessfully to overrun Landing Zone Snoopy in Vietnam.
◆1971 The first major battle of Operation Lam Son 720 takes place as North Vietnamese forces hit the same South Vietnamese 500-man marine battalion twice in one day.
◆1975 THE MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT.
◆1998 The UAE announced that it would buy 80 F-16s from the US for about $7 billion.
◆1999 NATO continued airstrikes for the 50th day of its campaign against Yugoslavia. 327 strike missions were flown. Pres. Milosevic acknowledged that his military had suffered casualties.